Elon Musk has spent roughly $US366 million ($NZ655.4m) in the 2026 US midterm election cycle so far, $276 million of it since July to help Republicans retain control of Congress, even as Democrats' chances of retaking the US House and Senate have improved.
Musk's largesse, which was reported earlier by The New York Times, makes the world's richest person likely the single-biggest political donor in this year's races, according to campaign finance records.
There is a lot at stake for Musk with Democrats in the US House of Representatives calling for investigations into his government contracts as CEO of aerospace company SpaceX as well as his work running the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump.
Here is a breakdown of his political spending (in US dollars), which was confirmed by a spokesman for his super political action committee America PAC.
* Musk has spent $366 million so far this election cycle, which began January 1, 2025.
* At least $276 million so far has gone to Republican groups and his own super PAC since July. Of the $276 million in third-quarter donations:
* $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC set up to help elect Republicans to the Senate that is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota.
* $20 million went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC set up for House Republicans that is aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican.
* $76 million went to Musk's America PAC.
* $10 million went to the Lone Star Liberty PAC, which is supporting Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton's run for the US Senate in Texas, where recent polls have him in a dead heat against Democrat James Talarico.
* $10 million went to the Republican Governors Association.
* $2 million went to the Republican Attorneys General Association.
* America PAC is helping Republican candidates in seven battleground states and nearly three dozen House races.
* The new giving will be publicly disclosed when many super PACs are required to disclose their third-quarter spending on Thursday.
* Musk has also donated more money through groups that do not disclose their donors, according to the New York Times report.
* Roughly $90 million spent this cycle paid for work done in the prior election or supported other issues, including an unsuccessful candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a controversial programme paying $1 million to registered voters who signed a petition supporting free speech and gun rights, according to an America PAC spokesman.
* Musk spent roughly $290 million during the last election cycle in which Trump won the presidential election race against former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.